Last year, during the SOTU, we spent all night live blogging the inappropriate arrest of Cindy Sheehan for wearing a T-shirt to the State of the Union address. And, naturally, the misreporting of it by CNN, AP et al. We're hoping for a less eventful SOTU tonight, personally, but lord only knows what could happen. If it does, we'll be here.

But so will you. So, to that end, consider this a SOTU Open Thread. Have at it!

To get you warmed up, if you need it, see the rather hysterical parody SOTU at right and the quite amusing Democratic response that follows. We're sure neither will be anything at all like the actual versions. (Hat-tip Atrios for the vid.)

For your more serious types, RAW STORY has advance excerpts from the speech right here and Webb's response right here.

They are dropped into Committee reports that are not even part of the bill that arrives on my desk. You did not vote them into law. I did not sign them into law. Yet they are treated as if they have the force of law.

Frankly, I was disappointed. What I was hoping for was, "I am not a king" and "America will no longer terrorize the world to feed its insatiable gullet and destroy all the living systems of the earth."

I was also hoping he would get through introducing the heroes, then pause significantly, and say, "But my fellow Americans, there is another side to America..." then introduce maybe a child rapist, an elder abuser, a CEO who has ripped off pensions of the employees...

I sent a couple dozen automated text messages in, but it wasn't enough to overcome the legions of idiotic fox noise viewers (I didn't know 80 year olds stayed up this late). Okay, thats enough fox for me this year.

Did anyone catch that part near the end when he said the following... "A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. It would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time."

I don't know why, but this REALLY freaked me out. Perhaps it's because of stories of FEMA and Haliburton involvement in the construction of detention camps on U.S. soil. What the #$%! do these Neo-Cons have in mind for us non-believers ?

First anti-american Hugo Chavez supporter Cindy Sheehan was removed and not arrested. Jim Webb is a moron who should remove his lousy hair piece and stop lying. Blue in Deep they are building this imaginary sites to put people like you in before Bush leaves office. Keep looking over your shoulder and believing all the BS that those here at this site keep feeding you. Can I sell you a bridge???

Blue #22-- I noticed that, too. Wasn't sure what was meant. Are we talking mercenaries, private enterprise taking over military functions --- selling it as some sort of militarized Peace Corps?

They are really trying to set up private/corporate starship troopers kind of thing for the long run. ("Defining struggle", "it will last beyond out time", etc.) Reorganizing society on a corporate/fascist model to keep the oil flowing. Not in my country.

No. I'm the top Democrat in the world and you will not touch me, but if you deserve to survive you should crush this flea before we have to have another SOTU that was more of a farce than the video above. Thank you very much indeed.

ARRY #25... there is sufficient vagueness in the statement to allow many interpretations... volunteers who are paid !?!

Considering the Bush administration's "gift" for working around the confines of law, it might be an attempt to overcome the limitations of "Posse Comitatus"... another test to see how far they can expand executive power.

There are a lot half-wit-half-nuts NRA and supremist types who would gladly volunteer if one of the duties were to herd liberals or whomever.

After the garbage that came out of Gonzales' mouth the other day, it is clear that they are not overly burdened with a concern for protecting the rights of U.S. citizens.

Did anyone catch the post-game coverage on ABC? I have kids, and I could not catch the SOTU, but was very struck by the FOX-like post-SOTU coverage by ABC. They had this incredibly cheesy, beaming woman (african american ala Condi) "describing" his health care initiative. It was like bad propoganda man! A used-car-salesmanship if I ever saw one. The whole coverage was grossly skewed towards Bush's policies. The Dems they had on were thrown Limbaugh-like questions ("Don't you dems want it both ways with Iraq?"). ABC found the one general that agrees with escalation as representing the military's view. What the fu*&? How can we get on ABC for the bullsh*&?

I could have gone on a drunken rant last night, but I drank coffee instead. I've also had the benefit of waiting a day before responding. It seems that's all the citizens of the United States are currently reduced to, is a pile of drunken ranters. This is the corporate media's fault 100%.

I can't help but think about all those who are clapping in the audience half of which are the reason of the destruction of our constitution, theft of our country's wealth, deaths, and all this secrecy and spy crap.

Why would you clap for someone who has broken their oath of office? (Specifically to protect the constitution.)

It's time for our whole govenment to take a drug test if you ask me. Manditory for everyone.

We need a crack team to uphold the constitution, and take action, remove all the oath breakers right now, clean up this secret parallel, black, dark government crap, and make our government OUR GOVERNMENT! I want to see a team that has security clearance to GO in the pentagon, go in the whitehouse, go in the cia, nsa and drug test, and audit for OATH OF OFFICE, if need be use deadly force. I want this tactic of outsourcing everything STOPPED.

I want them to have the power to restore the constitution NOW!

Start weeding these rotten people out.

The state of the union, is that there IS NO UNION! It's a state of CHAOS. There is no Constitution, there only a Dictator. And this is unacceptable.